88: A Tactical Game of Armored Combat on the North African Front, 1940-1942

About this board game

88: A Tactical Game of Armored Combat on the North African Front, 1940-1942 is a tactical-level World War II ground combat game for 2-10 players, with games lasting about 60 minutes. It recreates the struggle between Britain’s Desert Rats and the German and Italian Afrika Korps in Africa’s Western Desert.

The game uses 50 data cards to present the information needed to move and fight with German, British, and Italian units. Its system handles detailed factors including armor thickness at different points, shot angles, heights, altitudes, and terrain effects.

Small-unit tactics are central to play. Players can employ armor-piercing shots, small arms fire, high explosives, artillery barrages, air support, communications, turret rotation, gun depression, mines, roadblocks, barbed wire, and smoke.

• Six-piece geomorphic mapboard with movable terrain pieces
• Flexible scenarios covering a variety of combat situations
• Units including infantry, anti-tank guns, halftracks, and numerous armored vehicles
• Vehicles such as Matildas, Crusaders, Bren Carriers, Honeys, Grants, Shermans, M13/40s, SEM 41s, and a large variety of Pz IIIs and IVs

The unit roster also includes Long Range Desert Group trucks and the deadly 88mm anti-tank gun. These varied forces reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the armies involved, while the map and movable terrain support different battlefield situations.

Released in 1980, 88 offers a compact framework for exploring armored combat, infantry actions, and combined battlefield support on the North African front.